


The Distance In His Eyes

by Eternal Scribe (Shadowcat)



Category: Primeval
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-04
Updated: 2011-02-04
Packaged: 2017-10-15 09:43:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/159530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowcat/pseuds/Eternal%20Scribe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"All they know is a picture or a file. They weren't her friends. They didn't <i>love</i> her."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Distance In His Eyes

Everytime someone came up to the two men after the service, the taller one waved them away. He understood that they wanted to offer their support and condolences, but there was nothing that they could say to them right now. More importantly, the younger man wouldn't be able to handle any of their words right now. He wasn't sure if there was anything that they could say that would help him.

Hell, he wasn't sure if anything they wanted to say would help _him_ right now.

He listened to the others walk away and sighed inwardly. He knew that Connor had wanted a private ceremony -- just the people who knew her -- but Phillip Burton had been insistent that everyone at the ARC pay their respects to someone that had been a colleague.

"Most of them didn't even know her," Connor finally said in that hoarse voice that he had now. "All they know is a picture or a file. They weren't her friends. They didn't _love_ her."

"I know," Becker said quietly. He did know and he had done his best to fight for Connor about this. After all, right now, Connor couldn't fight for himself. The pain was too much for him; too raw and fresh. "Lester tried, Connor."

"It wasn't enough."

When thunder rumbled overhead, Becker placed his hand on his shoulder. "We should go, Connor. It's about to get very wet."

"I don't want to leave her alone," Connor said, and then his voice broke. "Only she's not there and I _did_ leave her alone. I couldn't even bring her back home."

Becker winced and put his arm around him so that he could steer him away from the headstone and toward the truck that was waiting for them.

The drive to Becker's place was silent. Since Abby and Connor's flat had been packed up and put into storage, Becker had insisted Connor stay with him. After all, there was no way he could let him be alone, not in the condition he was in. When they got to his place, Connor headed to the darkened bedroom he had been staying in and Becker sighed wearily.

He didn't know what to do to help him. It had only been a few days since his return, but there should have been something he could have done to change all of it.

He headed into the kitchen to grab a beer and then he let himself collapse onto his sofa. He watched the storm move in, but his thoughts were already moving back several days; back to when the anomaly opened.

 

***

"Guns down, guns down!" Becker barked when he recognized the person who had stumbled from the anomaly and was on his knees with his hands behind his head. When no one else came through the anomaly, Becker looked at Connor, helping him to his feet. "Connor? Where are Abby and Danny?"

He watched Connor struggle with himself. "Danny went on ahead of us after Helen when I was hurt by raptors. Abby... Abby..."

Becker caught Connor as he broke in front of him. "Connor? Connor, mate, talk to me. Where is Abby?"

"Abby didn't... she ... a quake... off the cliff... Spinosaurus... she was... gone... oh god, Becker. _Abby's gone!_ "

It had taken some time, but Becker had finally managed to get the story put together from what Connor was able to get out through his shock and grief.

Abby and Connor had finally gotten together during their stay in the Cretaceous. About a week previous to the anomaly opening, there had been a sudden earthquake and the cliff Abby had been on had collapsed, and she had gotten hurt. Before Connor could get to her, a damned dinosaur -- Spinosaurus, Connor said -- had smelled the blood from her wounds. Connor had fallen apart again when he told Becker that she had never made a sound after the dinosaur arrived...

 

***

Now, Becker sighed, feeling that pain in his chest that had been there since he had gotten the news. He just couldn't imagine a world without Abby Maitland in it. The fact that she had died only _days_ before the anomaly had opened that would have brought her home just made the pain all the worse.

He leaned forward, burying his face in his hands. He thought the grief had been bad when he lost Sarah, but this was different. This was more personal, more painful. He had adored Abby. There was something about her that could make him smile, no matter what kind of mood he was in.

A sound from the bedroom made him stiffen. He got to his feet and moved quickly to the bedroom that Connor was occupying. When he opened the door, his heart broke a little more.

"Oh, Conn," he said quietly.

Connor had collapsed on the floor and his body was shaking with silent sobs. There were tears pouring down his face as he held his arms tightly around his waist, but he wasn't making any sound at all.

Becker sat on the floor beside him and just held him. The depth of Connor's grief made Becker's rise up again and the two men sat in the darkened room and just held onto each other as they mourned the loss of the woman they thought would live forever.


End file.
